Should developers of AGI be considered more dangerous than drunk drivers?

You probably spend some time in cars. This is good for getting around town. However, it is accompanied by the risk of death in a fiery ball of twisted steel. This is less good. The good news is that modern vehicles are relatively safe. The bad news is that, well, rush-hour traffic in urban areas is still horrifying.

This is not medical, logistical, or navigational advice. This is a joke.

Notes

Each time you get behind the wheel of a car (or sit in the passenger’s seat), you’re taking your life into your own hands. Every 250 miles of automobile travel is accompanied by a 1 in 1 million chance of death. The good news is, something else will probably kill you first. Especially if you believe that remote work and better airbags will ultimately improve your odds!

How Old Are You?

50 years

Notes

This one’s easy. Unless you’re one of those people who never can remember their age. May I then suggest looking at your driver’s license? Maybe you don’t have one. In that case, your odds of dying in a car accident do fall…of course, your odds of getting to Trader Joe’s before it closes fall as well.

Are you male or female?

Male
Female

Notes

With apologies to any non-binary persons. The process of senescence is a function of the sex assigned at birth rather than gender role, unless your gender role causes you to consider professions like crab-fisherman, lumberjack, or anything else with an unusually high risk of death.

How many miles do you drive (or ride as a passenger) each year?

20000 miles

Notes

More driving, more risk of catastrophe. Romantic lyrics in “Thunder Road”, “Born to Run”, “On the Road Again”, “Life is a Highway”, or “Take it Easy” notwithstanding.

Are you driving more or less as the years go by? (Change in miles-per-year each year)

You will drive -50 fewer miles next year

Notes

In a world of remote work, Uber Eats, same-day delivery, and countless other conveniences, a lot of folks are driving much less each year. Of course, in a world of digital nomadism and hybrid gas mileage, some folks are (weirdly), driving more. Positive numbers mean more driving each year, negative numbers mean curtailing your driving habits.

Do you think driving, in your neck of the woods, is more, less, or equally dangerous in comparison with the rest of the United States of America?

Notes

If you are roaming about the rural midwest, with nary a car nor topographical feature in sight, your risk of death is quite a bit lower, per mile, than the average driver. If you find yourself whizzing around the DC beltway at rush-hour on a daily basis and attempting donuts during snowstorms, you might see your micromorts increase. Smaller numbers mean lower risks (0.1 means each mile drive contains 1/10th the risk, 10 connotes that each mile you drive contains 10x the risk of the average driver).

Notes

Estimates of your probability of meeting an untimely end/enslavement at the hands of a misaligned AGI range from 3-90%… which is a heck of a lot higher than the odds associated with a grizzly, roadside fireball.